


The Poison Seas

by countconiine



Series: The Avatar Space Fleet [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Science Fiction, and a lot of science!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countconiine/pseuds/countconiine
Summary: Commander Korra and her space fleet venture onto a hazardous planet, trying to understand the strange disease that plagues the inhabitants. Their incompatible biologies are one challenge, but navigating her budding relationship with a crew member is another.Sci-Fi Korrasami
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: The Avatar Space Fleet [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883101
Comments: 25
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A follow on from "The City of Clay", though reading that is not necessary! While it may be nice for some context, this is a totally new setting, with some new (and some old!) science happening here :D

Iroh II rubbed his eyes. He had a pained expression on his face.

“As much as I would like to say yes, I can’t let you go on this mission. We’re stretched too thin.”

“But we know there’s beings out there that need our help! We’re certain of where they are this time and-”

“If your ship hadn't malfunctioned we might have had the resources but now…” he sighed. “You know there’s a war looming, don’t you?” 

Korra averted her eyes. While her fleet had been gone on their mission, tensions were rising back on Earth. Despite their best efforts and technologies, there was no denying that resources were running low on their planet, and some government officials had suggested they impose sanctions on their allied species from other galaxies. They wanted to break the space treaty for the sake of new resources. It didn’t fly well with a lot of people. Equally, there were people that agreed. 

“Politics shouldn’t get in the way of this,” she mumbled. 

Iroh knew she was right. He had devoted his life to helping other species out in the cosmos just like she had. The guilt was gnawing at the back of his mind. “I will speak with the committee again. I’ll try to change their minds, but I can’t promise anything.”

At this, Korra lit up. “Great! Thank you!” 

* * *

Korra walked down the length of their new ship - General Iroh II had after all talked the committee into agreeing with the mission. They said it was bad luck to name a new ship after an old one, but Korra paid no attention. The only thing she’d ever command would be called the SS Raava and that was the end of that. 

She came to the end of the corridor, walking into the repairs workshop, situated at the far end of the ship. On the floor in front of her was a large trapdoor which she heaved open, heading down the steel ladder below the hull. 

The innards of this ship sure were less hot than the last one’s. The newer model’s pipes leaked less steam, and the insulation polymers on the tungsten were better. For once, Korra actually didn’t mind the way the underhull felt. 

“Asami?” she called out, weaving through the pipes jutting in and out of the walls with sensors all around them.

“Over here!” She called back. 

No matter how hard she tried, the Commander would never understand the sheer maze that the engineer worked in. She followed the sound of her voice to find the central power source, something similar to the old SS Raava - a fusion reactor enclosed in a solid lead vat, lined with manual controls if the systems were to fail. Pipes ran out of it through the floor to the engines even further down into the heart of the ship. She found Asami coming up from the hatch at her feet.

“Engines are looking good,” the engineer said. “How far out are we?” 

Korra lent her a hand as she climbed back up to her level. “We’re nearly there. Just wanted to make sure you’re alright down here.” 

“Thanks. Did you read Iroh’s report this time?” She wiped a trickle of sweat from her temple with the back of her glove. 

Korra rolled her eyes. “Hard not to. I didn’t expect Atkova to be quite like _that_.”

Asami chuckled. From what their scans of the planet told them, the atmosphere should contain enough oxygen for them, but it was the ammonia content that worried them most. It was difficult to tell why ammonia was so abundant, but they would get a better idea once they landed. 

“Finally a cold planet, though.” Korra said. “I was getting tired of the heat on Kythera.”

“Cold temperatures aren’t my thing but,” the engineer smiled, “it’s more of a reason to stick together.”

The Commander blushed. “Heh, I suppose so.” She leaned against the pipes as Asami checked the reactor. She noticed the engineer still had her quartz glove with her, ever since her strange encounter with the Kytherans on the last planet they were on. Korra still didn't really understand how the fourth dimension worked, but only knew that Asami had briefly seen it, and since then has had this strange ability to... reverse entropy? It was something to do with the flow of time. She forgot. It just looked cool, but she still wasn't great at using it.

While they had been back on Earth, they had a couple of days to themselves while the new ship was being readied. As promised, of course, Korra did take Asami to Air Temple Island, showing her around the courtyard. The Avatar herself had never thought much of the beautiful scenery until she sat down with the engineer under the flowering cherry trees. Suddenly, she had felt like the environment was all new to her too. 

* * *

“This is wonderful,” Asami said, looking out at the water around the edge of the island, her back resting against the trunk of the tree. The sunset’s colors spread out across the water’s surface, creating a beautiful blend of warm reds and cool blues. 

Korra picked a cherry blossom out of her girlfriend’s hair and chuckled. “Yeah.” She smiled as Asami glanced in her direction. “She is.” 

“Oh, don’t start.” She averted her gaze, looking back out at the sea, but her cheeks blushed a deep pink. She scooted closer to Korra, leaning against her as the Avatar slid her arm around her. It was a good thing everyone else was inside still celebrating the crew’s return. 

“It definitely isn’t as beautiful as Kythera but at least there’s nothing trying to kill us here.”

Asami nestled her head onto Korra’s shoulder. “The scenery isn’t everything,” she looked up into the Commander’s eyes. She didn’t finish her sentence but she understood what she wanted to say. It was Korra’s turn to blush as the engineer leaned up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

* * *

The intercom cackled as Bolin’s voice came through, bringing Korra back to reality. “We’re landing in ten minutes!” 

She shook her head, taking in her surroundings like she had just woken up. She looked up at Asami one more time. “Right. I should go!”

The engineer waved her off before taking her seat amongst the pipes and circuitry of the ship, strapping herself in with her seatbelt, watching the readings for anything wrong.

Korra hurried back up to the cockpit, taking her position in the Commander’s seat in the middle of the rest of them. Kuvira handled the ship’s steering as they approached the planet, while Mako watched the shields and defences to make sure they were ready when they entered the atmosphere. Bolin usually handled transmissions, so was looking out for any warnings that might come in. 

The Atkovan solar system was strange. It was barely a “solar” system at all. The windscreen usually automatically darkened to prevent them from blinding themselves when stars came into view, but this time it barely changed. At the center of the orbiting planets was a small, red dwarf, emitting little light. It explained why Atkova was recorded to be so cold. 

“2 minutes to atmosphere,” Kuvira said, looking over her control panel. The ship’s systems were calculating the composition of the atmosphere and the gravitational pull, outputting values for their desired velocity and angle of entry. 

Korra looked up from her own readings, seeing the planet approach through the windows. Its atmosphere was clear, with almost no clouds, and as they neared she could just about make out the mountainous, jagged terrain. So much of it though seemed to be covered in water. 

Water? But it was so cold. There was no way there was liquid water on the planet, and yet there were vast seas stretching across it. 

“30 seconds to atmosphere,” Kuvira said. 

Korra got on the intercom to Asami. “Status for landing?” 

“Clear. No warnings,” the engineer’s voice rang back. 

“Take us down, Kuvira.” 

The Flight Lieutenant nodded, working the controls of the ship as they descended down towards the planet. “Entering atmosphere. Velocity steady.” 

“Shields are at 100%,” Mako said. He also let out a sigh of relief. After what happened last time, that was nice to see. 

They descended down quickly, but in control. The front of the ship glowed with heat from the friction, but the shields barely undertook any damage.

Kuvira steered them down, keeping the ship steady as they touched the ground. Korra looked out at the land around them. It was definitely a huge change from Kythera. 

“Woah,” she whispered. 

They landed in a clearing among the lush wildlife. Plants towered above their ship, with wide leaves and trunks full of climbing vines with colorful flowers, sprouting strange, orange fruit. The ground was littered with smaller, grass-life plants and more scattering vines like ivy, roaming everywhere as though looking for more things to climb on and consume. In the distance, they could make out the water’s edge through the foliage, and all of their stems and leaves glistened in the dim light. Although it was supposed to be midday on Atkova, the sky looked like dusk.

“It looks like a rainforest!” Bolin said, leaning forwards in his seat to see better. 

Kuvira powered down the engines and unbuckled herself along with the rest of the crew, until Mako drew their attention to something. 

“Before we go out, we need to scan.”

Everyone groaned. They had been too excited to get out and explore the strange planet that they forgot to check their surroundings first.

The firebender ran the program on his control panel as the crew gathered around him. They watched over his shoulder as they heard Asami walk in too.

As the program finished, it didn’t seem to be good news. 

“So that’s not water,” Korra said, looking out the window again. “It’s ammonia. All of it.” The sparkling seas she saw from the sky wouldn’t be as welcoming as they thought.

Asami leaned forward a bit, trying to read through the results a little better. “That explains the toxic air. Ammonia is volatile. Are there enough spacesuits for everyone?” 

“Yeah,” Korra said. 

“Will the ammonia dissolve our skin?” Bolin asked. To be perfectly honest, he wasn’t so sure what ammonia was. 

“No,” Asami answered. “Not in this amount. But the irritation would start to build up over time.”

“Right.”

“Bolin, did the Atkovans get back to us?” Mako asked.

The earthbender rushed back to his seat and picked up his tablet, hurriedly scrolling through it. “I er… I forgot to check.” They held back their eye rolls as he checked. “Yes! Sort of. The message was a little distorted probably because of the landing but they should be expecting us.”

“So will they come to get us?” His brother said. 

“I… I’m not sure.”

“I think they will,” Asami pointed out the window. An Atkovan was making their way through the thick foliage, hacking at the vines with a machete. 

The crew stared at the being approaching their ship. Although they had met three Atkovans on Kythera, they weren’t used to seeing the species healthy. The individuals they met had most of their bodies eaten by their disease and they resorted to building themselves mechanical limbs to try and compensate. The only thing they recognised was their characteristic grey-skinned faces, with short upturned noses and wrinkled expressions, almost always looking angry. It was why they had originally called them the “bat-faces” before learning the name of their planet.

Now, they noticed their natural limbs protruding from their clothing, and for the first time realized their hands and feet were webbed, with fish like fins coming out of their forearms and calves. Their clothes were thin and seemed to be made of some sort of leather. They clung tightly to their torsos and legs, keeping them streamlined. 

“They… they swim in the ammonia,” Asami thought out loud. The thing she loved most about going to a new planet was the initial learning curve of how life survives, but Atkova was getting more interesting each second. 

“If the seas are ammonia,” Kuvira said, “where will we get water?”

The crew was silent for a few moments. They had never considered there not being water on a planet with life. All life needed water, surely. 

“There must be some,” Asami said. She checked her earpiece was working, tapping it once and hearing it beep. “We just have to ask them.”

The Atkovan reached the ship and they waited patiently for a sign of the crew.

“Let’s get geared up,” Korra said, leading them down the corridor. They opened the door to the ship into a buffer room where they were sprayed with disinfectant to avoid contaminating the planet, or vice versa. Their protective equipment was stored away here in lockers within the walls, each tailored to the crews’ sizes.

The polymer spacesuits were designed to fit over their undergarments comfortably, protecting themselves and the fabric from the alkaline air outside. The navy colored suits came up to their chins, hugging their necks snuggly so nothing could get in. The helmets came next, made from the same material that went over their head, covering the rest of the exposed skin. The transparent panels were large enough that they could still see each other clearly. On either side, they had the small, circular air filters that would keep the ammonia out of the air they breathed. 

“Everyone ready?” Korra asked. 

The crew nodded. 

With that, she opened the doors and the air hissed with the change in pressure. As they stepped out onto Atkova, the first thing that hit them was the cold air. It didn’t take long for them to start shivering, despite the suits’ insulation. Although the planet looked like a wet, tropical rainforest, it had the temperature of the South Pole that Korra was used to.

“Earth people?” 

They turned and saw the Atkovan approaching cautiously, their language translated by their earpieces as they spoke. From what they remembered, the Atkovans were advanced species too, and they had their own earpieces to do the job backwards for them too.

Korra stepped forward. “Yes. I’m Commander Korra. We’ve come to help you.”

The Atkovan nodded. “We received your message. I am Muu. I was appointed spokesperson of our kind for your arrival. Please, let me take you to our capital and I will introduce you.” They took a moment to look at the crew’s attire. “You don’t tolerate our atmosphere?”

“Ammonia is toxic for us. It will corrode our skin,” Korra answered. Despite the air being safe after passing through their filters, it still tasted sour for the crew.

Muu blinked a couple of times. “Ah.” They seemed to chuckle. “You must be water-based life. Species like yours rarely like visiting our planet.”

The crew looked at each other. They had so many questions but the Atkovan had already started walking.

“I must take you straight to the capital now. Our leaders have been excited to talk to you ever since we got your message.” They led the crew through the thick foliage, and as dense as the shrubbery was they couldn’t help noticing the lack of other wildlife. They had most probably scared them away when they landed.

“How long have you battled this disease?” Korra asked.

Muu shook their head. “It’s hard to tell. We have teams of our best scientists looking into it, but there have been no breakthroughs. All of our laboratories are also based in the capital. I will take you on a tour.”

As they neared the edge of the sea, the foliage became scarcer, until they were final able to see the soil under the thick vines. It was jet black, but where the ammonia waves brushed against the shore it had been bleached white.

The crew studied the strange soil for a while, lifting up their boots to look at the black dust that it left on their soles. It almost looked like coal.

Their gazes fell back on the shoreline, and across the flat sea they could see further in the distance than they could in the rainforest. They could see what looked like a port, but there were no ships at all. Instead, submerged pods jutted out of the water, their tops opened up, just the right size for someone to hop inside. There was no one manning the machines, and no one seemed to be coming and going either.

Further along the ammonia’s edge, there was a larger port with similar pods, but they were large and heavy looking. The metal looked thick, and they spotted a few robotic arms loading crates into them. A couple of Atkovans watched over the operation, their backs hunched, leaning against the large containers.

As Korra watched the pods in action, She figured it was perhaps faster to travel between settlements by sea than land, with the thick forest and all. It was still strange that they had chosen submarines instead of ships

“This way.” Muu led them forwards. “The submersibles will lead us to the capital.”

The Atkovan paused on the edge of the pier, gesturing for everyone else to hop in first. The crew hesitated, looking down through the opened hatch and inside one of the pods. It was lined with comfortable seats, and there was probably enough room for all of them.

Mako looked back at the others then back at the pod. He was at the front of the queue and carefully steadied himself as he slid his way down into it. He could just about stand inside the submersible, ducking slightly as he went and took a seat.

Bolin followed, then Kuvira, and finally Asami hopped down as well. Korra took one last look outside before she went in. On the horizon she could just about spot smoke, and the tip of metal buildings over the tall treetops. She wondered whether it was where they were travelling to.

Muu finally joined them last, closing the hatch behind them, sealing it by rotating the circular lever. It made a hissing noise as it locked, and once the Atkovan took their seat, the submersible silent engine started.

The crew looked out the windows anxiously, fully aware that they were surrounded by toxic, hazardous liquid as the pod started to descend into its depths.

The submarine headed deeper and deeper into the sea, and when the light levels dropped low enough its headlights came on. It lit up what seemed to be a whole other world beneath the surface of the ammonia and the crew’s eyes widened at the colourful life that lived near the ocean floor.

Plants grew as abundantly here as they did on the surface, covering the bleached white soil with a variety of colours. They housed small, floating creatures with jelly-like bodies that undulated with the ammonia currents, unafraid of the pod as it passed through.

As so many questions cropped up in the crew’s minds, the sight of what they were after started to come into view. They very quickly realized they weren’t travelling to a land settlement at all.

Large domes appeared through the darkness of the ammonia depths, illuminated brightly with artificial light. Through the glass walls they could see clearly inside, and could make out the bustling activity that went on within the structures. Atkovans came and went, living their sophisticated lifestyle with the aid of robots. As they came closer, the number of domes only increased, each one linked to the other by glass tunnels, forming an enormous interlinked hive. The crew could barely decide where to look. Everywhere there seemed to be something different happening.

“Welcome to our capital, Attara.” Muu gestured proudly towards the grand domes as the submarine descended down to a landing pad.

As the crew looked around, trying to get their bearings, the pod was taken into the landing, the doors shutting behind it as the water was drained out. The hatch popped as the seal opened, and Muu let them all out.

“There is negligible ammonia content in our air here,” they said. “Your helmets will not be necessary.”

As the crew came out of the pod they took their helmets off cautiously, but the sour taste in the air was gone. Muu was right, and they let out a sigh of relief.

“Now come.” The Atkovan held their hand out, gesturing for them to head on out and into the dome city. Behind them, the landing shut once again, and the submersible made its way back into the ammonia sea.

“We have much to show you.” Muu added, taking the crew down the glass tunnel. Aquatic life floated all around the crew, and they nearly strained their necks trying to see it all at once.

They had been on Atkova for barely a few hours, and it was already nothing like they had expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Atkovan chatter rang through the glass domes. The capital was bustling with activity and filled with goods that were handed out by robots, from foul smelling orange fruit, to clothing and strange, small electrical devices. The Atkovans seemed to be exchanging something for them – circular, jet black token with inscriptions onto their faces.

As they walked from one dome to the next, they caught sight of food courts, markets, and even living parks full of plants from the surface, carefully nursed to survive in this strange new environment. Playing on a patch of vines were two young Atkovans. The jumped around on the soft greenery, throwing a makeshift toy submersible to one another.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Asami whispered to Korra.

The Commander had been busy looking up at the towering trees in the park. She admired the ornate benches at their roots and the colourful flowers arranged in neat rows. Asami’s voice brought her back to reality, but she had no idea what she was on about.

She shook her head, looking up at the engineer.

Muu was busy giving them directions. They described the way to the living quarters, the various shopping centres, recreational areas, offices and labs. Mako and Bolin were listening intently, while Kuvira hung back, watching things with the same scepticism as Asami seemed to imply.

The engineer checked the Atkovans couldn’t hear her before she whispered again. “They’re doing pretty well.”

Korra frowned. She took a look around and she was right. They were here to combat a pandemic, and yet they hadn’t come across a single affected Atkovan. That seemed to be a good thing.

Something was off. The three Atkovans they had met on Kythera had made such a big deal out of the pandemic that it seemed strange that life was going on normally, as though nothing was happening. Perhaps they had just gotten the wrong impression.

“And here we are!” Muu exclaimed, taking them through the tunnel at the far end of the hive, passing through a couple of Atkovans standing guard right before the gate. “Our parliament is right through here. You will meet with our government representatives from all the regions on Atkova.”

The crew nodded. This was exciting – not just because they finally got to talk about why they were here, but also because they would get to learn more about the rest of Atkova.

The guards let them into the parliamentary dome, and it was already obvious that they had arranged it to look as such. There were ornaments lining the circular walls – shelves full of trophies, taxidermies of strange animals and aquariums of life that they hadn’t seen before from their pod journey. The most impressive of all were the large, chunky diamonds that dotted the tables every so often. Something so rare on Earth must have been abundant on Atkova, and further confirmed their suspicions that the ground was indeed made of coal.

Sat around the large central table were only three Atkovans. They rose as the crew walked in, most definitely dressed to show their status. Their coats were lined with jewels that sparkled in the artificial light, and they each had a sash to indicate the region they represented.

“Welcome.” The first Atkovan stepped forward. They donned a bright blue sash with an inscription they could not read. “I am Xoro, the representative of our people here in the capital.” They pointed towards the other two members, their sashes black and purple respectively. “We also have members of the natural resources district and the industrial district from the surface. Khan and Burku.”

The crew bowed their heads, greeting each one in turn.

“We’d like to thank you for your bravery in coming here to help us directly. As you may know, the pandemic led us to lose touch with the allied nations around our galaxy.”

This was news to the crew. “Allied nations?” Korra said.

Xoro nodded. “You must be from very far away, but in this end of the Universe we had rich trade routes spanning across many parsecs. When the disease struck our nation, we were cut off from the rest of the network, ever since…” their voice dwindled as they judged the looks of the crew. They realized the humans hadn’t heard of this and hesitated.

“Since what?” Kuvira butted in.

“Since we found that it could spread to the other species too.”

The crew looked at each other. They hadn’t planned for this.

“But our biologies are so different,” Asami said.

Xoro shrugged. “It didn’t seem to matter. About two hundred fell ill on the intra-galactic hub we shared with the other nations, and they shut us away in fear that their people would suffer like ours were. This was decades ago, and we have suffered the consequences.”

Kuvira frowned. “Suffering? Your city is thriving!”

Korra shot her a look. She didn’t want this to be a repeat of last time, though after what the Atkovans had done to her she could understand if she bore some resentment.

Khan finally spoke up. “We isolate our sick as best we can, but no matter what we try there are always more that fall ill to the disease.”

Xoro nodded. “As a government we kept our capital safe and ensured our people here still had the means to live comfortably. It was a great effort, but our people are thankful for it.”

The crew took a moment to take it all in. Could they also get sick from the disease?

“And where are the rest of the regions?” Korra asked.

“The regions Khan and I represent are both on the surface,” Buruk said. “We have done our best to ensure they are safe too, but the laboratories you will be working with are all here in the capital, so you won’t have to travel far.”

The crew had more questions, but before they could get another word out Xoro turned to Muu. “Why don’t you show the newcomers to the labs? Introduce them to our scientists.”

Muu bowed their head, before motioning for the human to follow them.

Korra and the rest complied, and they followed the Atkovan back through the hive.

“Actually, Muu,” Korra said as they walked. “I think it may be best if we split up. Some of us should visit the rest of the regions to see how we can help.”

The Atkovan hesitated. “Split?”

The Commander looked at the rest of the crew. “I don’t know anything about diseases, so I’d probably be more useful somewhere else. What do you guys think?”

Asami nodded. “Sounds good.”

“It’ll be faster this way,” Kuvira said.

Muu shifted uncomfortably. They looked back to the parliamentary dome. “I don’t think that’s right. The leaders said we should all head to the lab.”

Korra waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, but this way things will work better. We can handle ourselves. We’ve been to a lot of planets.”

“Well… I…” the Atkovan looked from one crew member to the next. They all waited for their answer and they stuttered for a few moments. “No. I’m sorry I can’t do that. I must accompany you and I cannot be in 3 places at once.”

“But-“

“I am sorry. Now please,” they seemed to give a polite smile, curling their lips, showing their jagged, bleached teeth. “Follow me and I will show you everything you want to see.”

* * *

The Atkovans were an advanced species, and it definitely showed in the complexity of the laboratories they build. The crew were shown round the different samples coming in from infected Atkovans, sealed away in airtight containers. Even when in use, they were completely isolated from the room, and the petri dishes of tissue samples were accessed through gloveboxes.

None of the crew members had much experience in biology, especially not one of a foreign species, but as they were introduced to the research team leader they were hoping for a better explanation.

“Hello,” an Atkovan in lab gear approached them, moving their goggles to their forehead, revealing their dark, beady eyes. “My name is Bryx. I lead the research team here as we are scrambling for a cure.” They motioned towards the stack of petri dishes sealed away behind glass screens. The pieces of tissue stored in them looked jagged, almost as though bits had been shredded away. “As you may know, we are battling a flesh-eating disease.”

Bryx proceeded to run them through the equipment they had available, explaining the biological tests they ran, from blood tests, to biopsies, and presenting them the machinery that they used to identify compositions of flesh and blood alike. The crew crowded around the screen they showed, squinting and trying to understand the chemicals they were testing for.

“We have never been able to find anomalies in blood samples. There are no irregularities in electrolytes, or spikes in the immune system.” Bryx gestured towards the readings almost helplessly. “There is in fact nothing to suggest the body is even fighting a disease.”

The writing of the Atkovans was incomprehensible to the crew, so instead Bryx had switched to display models of the molecules they were testing for instead. While they couldn’t read what they wrote, the crew was at least able to identify some basic compounds that must have been the building blocks of life on Atkova. Lithium salts, carbon chains and ammonia levels in the test subjects’ bodies lit up, as well as an alarmingly high content of an ion displayed as C≡N-, which seemed to be normal for them.

As they carried on walking through the lab, inspecting samples and machinery, Korra noticed Asami being distracted by something else for a moment. She followed her gaze to the far end of the dome. On the screen, it seemed like the Atkovans had left some data open, and though they couldn’t tell what it was, the graphs produced seemed to mean something to the engineer.

She turned her attention back to Bryx.

Asami waited for a pause in the Atkovan’s explanations before she interrupted. “Excuse me,” she said, “What is that for?” she pointed towards the machine she was looking at.

Bryx took a moment before clearing their throat. “An infrared spectrometer. It’s used to measure the chemical bonds in compounds so we can identify them.”

The engineer nodded. “I presume you never found anything out of the ordinary.”

“No,” the scientist chuckled. “It was a dead end.”

They moved on, not mentioning the results of the spectrometer again.

As their tour drew to a close, the crew was growing increasingly more tired. It was all a lot to take in, and it was becoming obvious that they were out of their depth here. Perhaps the best approach would be to just support the Atkovans while they found a cure themselves.

They thanked Bryx before Muu led them back through the tunnels.

“I have been asked by the leaders to offer you a place to stay in our capital here,” they said. “If you so wish.”

“That’s nice of them, but I think we’ll rest back on the ship,” Korra replied. “Where… you know. We have water and stuff.”

Muu chuckled. “Yes, of course. I did forget.”

They took them back to the landing pad, bringing in a pod for them to use.

“I will come back for you in the morning,” they said. “We’re excited for you to see the rest of our wonderful planet.”

The crew thanked them, before heading back to the surface. The ride back was strange, and they looked at each other not even knowing where to start.

“This is gonna be fucking hard, isn’t it?” Kuvira finally broke the silence, leaning back against her seat.

She got a round of nods from everyone around her.

* * *

The ship’s lights were dimmed, and the crew had gone back to their quarters. Though they had spent half a day exploring the capital, none of them felt like they really knew what they were dealing with, despite Muu’s and Bryx’s best attempts to introduce them to everything.

Korra sat on the edge of her bed, staring out into the dark shadows of her room. Her Commander’s jacket was thrown over the back of the chair. Her tablet sat on her desk open on the digital log she was meant to be keeping but she had written just under two lines.

She let out a sigh. She couldn’t understand it – there was nothing wrong. The Atkovans were cooperating with them and there was nothing trying to kill them here. Sure, the planet was hazardous, but they were managing just fine.

As quietly as she could, she got up and slid her jacket back on, tiptoeing out into the corridor. Everyone’s doors were shut and she slowly made her way down. She knocked softly on the last door.

It was a few moments before Asami answered. She stood in the doorway, frowning as she saw Korra all dressed again.

“You ok?” she asked.

Korra motioned for her to be quiet as she whispered. “I’m heading out.”

“What?”

“I’m going to find the other districts.”

“Wh-“

“I saw smoke when we were by the sea, they’re not far.”

“But Muu said they’ll come for us tomorrow.” Asami said, though knowing full well it won’t change Korra’s mind.

The Commander looked at her, tilting her head. She raised an eyebrow and Asami sighed. She was right.

“I’m coming,” she said finally.

“Are you sure? We don’t know what’s out there.”

The engineer rolled her eyes. “That’s not stopping _you_.” She went back into her room, taking her own jacket and lacing up her boots.

Korra checked no one else had come awake before leaning on the door frame. “So… is this like an adventure?”

“One that could end badly. But yes.”

She smiled. “That’s exciting.”

They sneaked through the spaceship, putting their suits and helmets on before stepping out. The doors make a loud hissing noise, but as they looked back at the ship none of the lights came on. They seemed to have sneaked out successfully.

Trudging through the thick vines was harder than they expected, especially without Muu’s machete to guide them. The path they had cleared to the spaceship was already starting to overgrow again as more plants and vines spread across the empty gaps.

“This place is so weird,” Korra said, pushing vines aside to try and get through.

“It’s… definitely interesting.” Asami followed close behind. She looked down at the electric glove on her hand. She hadn’t covered it with the space suit so she could still use it, and the material had already started to bleach around the edges.

“If I knew there was so much ammonia everywhere I wouldn’t have argued with Iroh to send us here.” She chuckled. They were nearing the edge of the thick foliage, hearing the sea waves crashing against the coal banks.

“I never thought there could be ammonia-based life, but it would explain why we might have missed their solar system for so long.”

“Yeah?”

“We usually search for water on planets to determine if there’s life. We never thought to search for anything else.” Asami wasn’t a biologist though, and she didn’t know why that was the case.

“Couldn’t understand a word back at the lab,” Korra said. They finally came out of the thick rainforest and started walking along the edge of the shore.

“It was definitely new to me as well,” Asami answered. “Although…” She trailed off.

Korra turned to see her frowning, looking at the ground as they carried on walking. She was trying to find her words.

“I don’t know for sure but there was something strange on that infrared spectrometer. I haven’t used one in so long, must have been my first year at uni.”

“Everything looked strange to me.”

“I guess I wouldn’t have thought so much about it if Bryx hadn’t have dismissed it so soon.”

Their walking slowed as they entered the foliage again, following the trail of smoke in the sky from one of the nearby districts.

“You don’t think the Atkovans would try to hide something, do you?” Korra said.

Asami hesitated. “Well… they don’t seem exactly honest. What was that thing about Muu needing to accompany us everywhere?”

“Probably a safety thing.”

“And the capital is oddly rich for a species that’s presumably dying.”

“Maybe they isolated the disease really well.”

“And Bryx wouldn’t show us the spectrometry results. The one thing I know to do.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t… relevant.” Korra’s voice nearly trailed off at the end. She was starting to see what Asami was saying and sighed. “God, really?”

The engineer shrugged. “I don’t know. I could just be paranoid. We know what happened when Kuvira trusted the ones back on Kythera.”

“We can’t judge all of them just because three Atkovans were bad.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

The trees and vines were becoming less and less dense, and eventually they were able to see further through them. They spotted roads that they had missed through the shrubbery, but they all led to the collection of buildings in the centre. In the midst of them, large towers bellowed smoke out into the air above, and a thick smog formed around the rooftops. Although it was night, the lights in the factories were all on, lighting up the many neighbourhoods that surrounded them.

“I think we’re here,” Korra said. The noise of machinery was audible even from a distance.

They weren’t sure how cautious to be, so they tried sneaking through the shadows to get closer to the district. The roads weren’t so busy at this time, but every so often a lorry would pass through. They stuck to the walls of the buildings, staying out of sight as they looked for signs of Atkovans. The lights in almost all the houses were off, and there were a few convenience stores dotted around the factories whose lights were bright and colourful. The smell of sulphur filled the air, one of the many ugly sides to the rampant industry here.

“This must be Burku’s district.” Asami said. The sides of the factories were donned with purple banners and inscriptions they couldn’t read. “The industry of Atkova.”

Korra nodded, squinting through the dimly lit streets. There was an Atkovan coming out of the convenience store, carrying a bag of canned food. Their clothes were dirty with thick, black oil, and their skin had darkened in patches around their hands and arms.

The Atkovan headed down through the buildings – blocks of terraced housing alternating in between blocks of apartments. They opened the door and headed inside, just about missing Korra and Asami lurking in the shadows. As they went in, the two crewmates heard them talking to someone, but their voice was too quiet for their earpieces to pick up and translate. They were whispering something.

Korra and Asami loked at each other. They both knew their curiosity would get the better of them so they headed up the alley to the Atkovan’s door, knocking gently a few times.

There was no answer.

They tried again, only a little louder.

Again, the Atkovan didn’t answer them.

“Maybe their culture doesn’t know what knocking means,” Korra said.

Asami wasn’t so convinced. “Just hold on a moment.” She walked to the side, trying to see through the window.

“Asami! You can’t just look into someone’s house.”

In that moment, the door handle clicked. The hinges creaked as the Atkovan poked their head out ever so slightly.

“Hi, we don’t mean to disturb you but we-“ Korra started.

“Are you from Earth?” The Atkovan spoke quietly, so much so that their earpieces were only translating their sentence in parts, not being able to pick up all of it.

“Y-Yes,” Korra said.

“Do you have the cure?”

The Commander’s face dropped. “No. But we’re trying to find one.”

The Atkovan nodded, before going to shut the door again.

“Wait!” Korra said after them. “Who were you talking to?”

Something made the Atkovan pause, looking down at their feet. They looked sullen and their chest seemed to heave with heavy breaths. “My son,” they said. They opened the door, letting the two crewmates in.

The house was small and cramped, and had at most two rooms. The dining table was full of protective factory equipment which had seen better days and the cupboards were open and empty, with the bags of canned food still on the floor waiting to be stacked.

Korra and Asami froze as they walked in, seeing the Atkovan’s son sitting on a chair in the far corner, slumped and seeming to struggle to breathe. Their body looked shredded, and the bone on the side of their jaw was becoming visible as the flesh appeared to retreat away from it. They might have tugged or pulled at their clothes, since their shirt looked ripped and frail, gaps in their skin underneath their garments.

The parent of the poor Atkovan started to sob, letting out low guttural gasps as ammonia tears ran down their face. “Please,” they managed to get out. “Don’t tell them.”

The crew mates took a moment to take in what was happening.

“What?” Asami said.

“Don’t tell them. Please. They’ll take them away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are slow, but they're steady! I have a lot of university work to go through, so I'm just trying to find more time to write!


	3. Chapter 3

“It’s… it’s ok,” Korra tried to reassure the distressed Atkovan. “We won’t tell anyone.” She gulped, looking from the crying parent to the dying son.

This was the first time they had come face to the face with the disease. There were no cyborg-like limbs to replace the frayed, decaying ones. Their flesh wasn’t hidden by metal armour, and instead large gashes littered the sick skin. As much as they tried to remain calm, the whole sight was just… grotesque.

“Where… Where would they take them?” Asami asked.

The Atkovan took a moment to catch their breath in between sobs. “I don’t know.” They wiped their face full of tears. “But the neighbours were taken away just a few days ago. They must have fallen ill, the whole family.”

It was terrifying to hear. People seemingly being stolen from their homes was an unpleasant concept, but the crewmates figured there must have been an explanation.

“They’re probably taken to quarantine,” Korra said. “Your leaders said they’re trying to contain the disease.”

The Atkovan shook their head. “No one ever comes back.”

They weren’t so sure how to respond to that. All they could see was fear plastered across the Atkovan’s wrinkled grey face.

Korra let out a long breath as she realized there was nothing they could do to help them. They had nothing to cure their son, and if quarantine was the protocol the Atkovans had in place then they had no right to intervene at this stage.

“Do you work there? In the factory?” Korra asked.

The Atkovan nodded, holding out their stained hands. “The nitric acid we use in synthesis makes all our arms sting and darken.”

“You don’t have protective gear?”

“All of the products we make are sent to the capital.” They looked back at their son. “I was hoping my son would be granted a job there someday, and they would be able to leave. But we have no hope now.”

A set of bright headlights drove past across the road outside. The light shone into the room briefly.

“Please,” the Atkovan composed themselves, “You must go. Quickly before someone sees you.”

“Sees us?” Korra said as they were being shooed away, “Why, what’s wrong with us being here?”

“We’re not supposed to be speaking with you.”

The crew mates were shocked, but before they could say anything else, the Atkovan had shut the door behind them, leaving them standing outside staring at the wood.

“I don’t like this,” Asami said.

“Neither do I. This is nothing like Attara.”

They had to head back, and snuck through the shadows the same way they had come before stepping into the thick foliage again.

“I have a lot of questions for Muu tomorrow,” Korra said. Her tone was suddenly bitter and angry. “I bet they were going to try and hide the way people are actually living from us!”

“You’re right, but I think we should be careful. Don’t prod Muu too much.”

“What?”

“We don’t want them to think we’re suspicious of them.”

“But we are!”

“Korra,” Asami sighed, following behind her as they walked through the vines, “the last thing we want is to get kicked out before we’ve even had a chance to do anything. We need to be discreet.”

“We should just sit tight?”

“What else would you have us do?”

The Commander took a moment to think about that. She had nothing.

The way back was more difficult, not having a pillar of smoke to follow, but they tried to make their way back towards the beach.

“Don’t worry, Korra,” Asami said. “We’ll do our best to help them how we can.”

It was true. They would find a way. They had to.

As they walked, the trees around them were starting to look less and less familiar. Slowly, they realized they couldn’t find their old tracks through the vines and every piece of shrubbery looked the same in the darkness.

They paused for a moment, looking around. All they could see was thick foliage surrounding them from every angle.

“Korra?” Asami whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Are we lost?”

“No?” She took another look around them. “Maybe?”

They took a few more steps, peeking through the bark as though the path back to the ship would suddenly show itself. There was nothing but dark silhouettes of more plants, and one small, flickering light.

“Do you see that?” Asami said.

“Yeah.”

The floating, tiny light hovered from leaf to leaf, and as they took a few steps towards it, more sprung up from the plants. Their faint light was a deep orange, and they seemed to dance through the trees as they moved away from the crew mates.

Korra and Asami followed, trying to get a closer look. They chuckled as they swerved through trees and vines, keeping up with the little lights. Finally, they stopped, and instead circled round a dense patch of shrubbery. The crew mates followed, giggling at the creatures flew around them in a dainty display of flickering orange.

“Are they like fireflies?” Korra said, her eyes darting from one bug to another.

“I think so.” Asami held her hand out and the creatures swerved out of the way, before circling back round it. “They’re so cute.”

“Be careful. What if they bite?”

The engineer chuckled. “They’re so small, they won’t bite.”

Korra held her hand out too, leaving trails through the fireflies’ flight. As small as they were, they created an adorable show around them.

“Woah.”

As she was busy staring at the bugs, she felt Asami’s gloved hand slip into hers. A smile spread on her lips and they stood like that for a little while, just admiring the colourful display.

“I guess even poisonous planets have beautiful things,” Korra said.

“At least there’s some creatures that don’t worry about the pandemic.”

“Yeah,” the Commander sighed. “It must be nice to be a bug. Not a care in the world.”

“Most bugs only live a few days.”

“And that’s all they need! It’s not like they have to wait for their tax return to come in.”

Asami chuckled. “I suppose not.” She turned towards Korra. “But that’s not a lot of time to spend with other bugs.”

Korra looked up at the engineer. Atkova didn’t have any moons, but the night sky was ever so slightly lit with the light from the distant galaxy, just enough that she could see Asami’s face in the darkness. If it wasn’t for the helmets, she would have leaned in and kissed her.

“Maybe we won’t be bugs then,” Korra said. “What about turtles? They live for ages.”

“That sounds better.” She wasn’t going to mention how much pollution the turtles had to endure back on Earth.

Either way, they smiled, tiny flickering lights dancing around them. It was a nice few moments, like they could take a break from the mission and enjoy the Atkovan fauna. But they were both aware that it would soon be morning, and they couldn’t stay out much later.

“We should head back soon,” Asami said.

Korra nodded, looking back out into the darkness, taking a step to the side. Her boot sunk into something, making a wet, cracking sound. She jumped back.

“What the-“ she squinted trying to see what it was as Asami took a few steps back too. As they tried to focus, they saw the silhouette of what the orange bugs had actually been gathering around.

They leaned closer, but it was difficult to make out the details. Curiosity got the better of them, and they reached up and turned on the headlights on their helmets, not caring about being found out anymore. The sudden light made the bugs scatter quickly through the trees, as the crew mates stared at what they just found.

The corpse of the creature looked somewhat fresh, and they could still make out its features. It had four short legs and a long, finned tail. Its smooth skin was light blue, and its back was adorned with colourful coral-like fins. Its head came to a near point with a thin snout and long, white whiskers, but along the edge of its lips there were large boils and sores, still oozing blood and pus.

The two of them stared at the dead amphibious creature, shocked. Its front left leg was bent out of shape, and it must have been the one Korra stepped on.

“It must have eaten something,” Asami whispered, pointing at the corroded mouth. “Or maybe it all just built up over time from whatever it was eating.”

Korra gulped. “So the first big animal we see… is dead?”

“I knew there must have been a reason why there’s so few of them.” Asami knelt down next to the body, taking a closer look at the poor creature’s face. There were chemical burns all around its snout. “Something’s killing them too. And it doesn’t look like the Atkovan disease.”

The colourful fins on the creatures were no doubt its species’ pride, and the animal must have looked so beautiful when it was alive. Seeing it dead in such a painful way was a sad truth that they know nothing about what was happening to Atkova.

“I guess we… we leave it be?” Korra said.

Asami nodded and stood back up. There was nothing they could do for it now.

As they looked out with their headlights, they spotted a trail of cut vines through the trees.

“The good news is,” Asami said, “I think that’s the way back.”

* * *

Kuvira sighed, sitting up in her bed. She had been turning restlessly for a little while and she couldn’t fall asleep. She stood up, throwing her boots on and walked out into the corridor. If she listened closely, she could just about hear Bolin snoring from his room next door. Other than that, silence. Everyone was asleep.

She headed down to the cockpit, looking for something to do so late at night – anything that might keep her occupied a while. She huffed as she sat down in Mako’s chair, booting up the ship’s systems. Originally, she was going to have another read of the scans that came through, but there was nothing new at a first glance, so she got bored. Then something caught her eye.

_Composition of liquid mass: Mostly Ammonia (NH 3)_

_For composition breakdown, insert sample_

She looked at the program for a little while. They really didn’t need to do this probably, but she felt restless and the jetlag wouldn’t let her go back to her room.

“Oh, what the hell.” She took the tiny vial out of the slot and sprung up, heading down the ship, slipping her space suit on, and stepping out. The beach was nearby, and she figured it would barely take any time.

It was dark out, and the light on the tip of her helmet was illuminating her path through the vines. She frowned. There was a path cut into the vines, though she was sure that the plants had overgrown again since they had last left the ship. Something could be out there, and she kept an eye out.

As she reached the ocean’s edge, she bent down and scooped a little water into the vial. Then she heard it.

There were voices coming from the thick foliage. In an instant, she reached up and turned her headlight off, hoping to stay hidden in the darkness. She watched the edge of the trees blindly, before she realized she recognised them. Without a doubt, it was Korra and Asami.

The Lieutenant frowned. Though she was shocked, she shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course Korra and the new girl decided to run their own scouting missions. Kuvira rolled her eyes to herself and was about to shrug it off as the Commander wanting to spend time with her girlfriend, before she started making out what they were saying.

“Even so, I’ve never seen people so terrified of being taken to quarantine. What if there’s something more to it?” Korra said.

“You think they could be hurting them? Imprisoning them?”

“Didn’t the Atkovans on Kythera say they were outcast? Sent into space all alone?”

“Maybe that. I wouldn’t want to draw conclusions too soon.”

Their voices were distancing themselves, and the Lieutenant stopped being able to hear them.

Without a doubt, they found something out, and whatever it was she was dying to know. She picked up her sample, waiting for the lights from her two crewmates to disappear out of sight, before she started making her way back.

By the time she had gotten to the ship, Korra and Asami must have been way ahead of her and already long gone into the ship as she made her own way in. The corridors were quiet, and the Commander and Engineer would have made themselves scarce, pretending like they had never been out.

Kuvira didn’t care. She went back to the cockpit, wanting to get the sample back to the program. She slotted the vial into the compartment and watched as the ship started analysing it.

Compounds and percentages started appearing on screen, one by one, and slower than she expected. There were many carbonates, potassium salts, and traces of more minerals and metals. Nothing stood out to her as the ship was producing risk assessments for each compound, until one line in the table lit up in red.

Kuvira recognised the compound. The same one that she had seen back in the lab when the Atkovans were reading blood samples. C≡N- lit up at about 3.7% composition.

As the ship was printing, the Lieutenant enlarged it to have a look. The software seemed to be trying to emphasise the risk of the compound as Kuvira read through the information.

_Prussic salts – derivates of prussic acid (Hydrogen Cyanide)_

She frowned, but her heart was starting to beat faster.

_Poisonous if ingested.  
In contact with water vapour, will hydrolyse to form cyanide gas.  
Odour: Bitter almonds  
Fatality: Immediate_

Kuvira ejected the sample, covering the top of it with her hand. There was water vapour in the air of the ship, but she hoped the low concentrations wouldn’t have been enough for gas to form and hurt her. She headed back out, needing to get rid of the sea water, making a mental note to tell the crew about this first thing in the morning.

And to especially question why there was so much cyanide in the Atkovans’ blood.

* * *

“Wait, you were out last night too?” Bolin said, putting his space suit on. “Was everyone out doing something cool while I slept?”

“Yes. I couldn’t sleep. But that’s not what matters.” Kuvira rolled her eyes. After Korra and Asami had told their story, she informed everyone about the cyanide in the oceans too. “Do you think the cyanide could have killed the creature?”

Asami shrugged. “Cyanide _is_ corrosive but that’s not how it poisons things.”

“Then how?”

“I don’t know, you just… die. Also, since hydrogen cyanide is acidic and ammonia is basic, I would have expected them to neutralise each other on the creature.”

“Is someone poisoning the Atkovans then?” Mako said. “I’m pretty sure they drink the sea water. Or sea ammonia. Whatever.”

“The disease doesn’t look like poisoning though,” Korra replied. “How would cyanide eat their skin?”

The crew looked at each other. It seemed like no one knew enough to be able to draw any solid conclusions.

“We won’t get anywhere like this,” Kuvira said. “We’ll just have to demand answers when we’re back in the lab.”

As they stepped out of the ship, Muu was already waiting for them. They had a smile plastered on their face as they greeted the crew.

“I will be very pleased to show you around the districts on the surface!” They said. “They are the backbone of our Atkovan prosperity. You will enjoy them very much.”

The crew smiled and nodded, but something didn’t add up.


	4. Chapter 4

The Atkovans were indeed capable of building comfortable, sophisticated transport. Muu wasn’t even watching the road, pointing out landmarks to the crew as the truck was driving them to the nearest city.

“We are very proud of our lush forests here on Atkova,” they were explaining. “The flora that grows on the surface of our planet is not at all useful for us, unfortunately, but ever since our civilisation has moved under the sea it has bloomed magnificently.”

The trees and thick vines surrounded the road on both sides, and due to the dim light on Atkova, it was difficult to even see through them. Even so, they looked awfully still.

“Do you have any dangerous animals?” Bolin asked. The darkness between the trunks was creeping him out a bit.

Muu chuckled. “No, no, there’s nothing to worry about. Our planet’s climate and conditions have made it difficult for life to survive, so there are minimal other lifeforms on Atkova. In saying that, there is a wonderful museum back in the Capital showcasing the creatures that have since gone extinct. Some are very beautiful.”

“Were,” Korra whispered, staring out the window.

The trip was looking to be uneventful, until they arrived in their first district. Korra and Asami recognised it, though it looked quite different in the daylight.

As they came to a stop and stepped out, Muu had started pointing this way and that, calling out buildings as they saw them, and trying their best to explain to the humans the sort of processes that the Atkovans were doing. The district was insanely large, and with it came an abundant amount of powerplants and processing units, with cargo coming and going almost constantly.

“As productive as we are, it is unfortunately a mere shadow of what we used to be able to do whilst we were still part of the trading bloc. That was before we were outcast, as you know.”

Black smoke bellowed up into the sky and the crew craned their necks upwards to catch sight of the very tips of the exhaust towers.

“The first plant we will see today is the polymerisation unit. With coal so abundant on our planet, our options are never limited by lack of raw materials and-“

“No! No please no!”

Muu froze, hearing the scream resonate through the streets.

“I’m sorry, please igno-“

The crew turned towards the sound of the commotion. Korra’s blood drained from her face as she recognised the Atkovan that was yelling, shoved out of the way. Pushing past them, were two Atkovans in hazmat suits dragging the sick son that they had met the night before. They were so ill they could barely stand, let alone put up any sort of fight.

“Please! Don’t!”

“Muu? What’s happening?” Mako asked.

Muu stuttered for a few moments. “Well… err… sometimes it doesn’t look pretty when sick ones are taken away, but-“

“Hey!” Korra yelled towards the authorities. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“Korra, no-“ Asami tried to stop her, but the Commander was already marching over to them.

“Stand back,” one of the Atkovans warned her. “It is dangerous to get close.“

Korra ignored them. “What are you doing? Pulling people from their homes?”

The sick son was being forced into the back of a truck as they tried to explain. “Commander, you must understand the disease must be contained. Please don’t interfere.”

“Where are you taking them? What are you gonna do to them?” She took more angry steps towards them, until the Atkovan put out their gloved hand to stop her. The dripping blood off of the yellow rubber took her by surprise and she stood where she was.

“No closer please. This is a biohazard to you as well, human.”

The rest of the crew gathered up behind her, despite Muu’s best efforts to lead them away.

The truck was shut, and the hazmat suits quickly drove away before things escalated. Korra was left staring off in their direction before a sob brought her back to reality.

“I’ll never see them again…” The Atkovan parent lamented.

There was a moment of silence as the crew didn’t know what to do or what to say. Muu also was especially surprised.

“I… I am so sorry about that,” they chuckled, trying to shake it off. “That… We did not mean for you to see that there… there has obviously been a misjudgement on the scheduling of your trip… someone should answer to this probably.” Another chuckle here only angered the crew more.

Asami put her hand on the crying Atkovan, trying her hardest to comfort them. She held their stained hands, just managing to imagine the conditions that would let the nitric acid damage their skin to that extent.

Korra turned to Muu immediately. “I’ve had it with these fake smiles and fake pride. You’ve been hiding things from us since we got here. How can we do anything for you if we don’t know the truth?! There’s people being kidnapped, shit working conditions, dying animals… and goddamned poisoned seas!”

Muu’s face went pale and they swallowed hard. Their beady eyes stared wide at the fuming Avatar, leaning back against their heels to put more distance between them.

“I… I…” Their voice was shaking as they searched for something to say.

“Korra, it’s not their fault,” Mako said. “Is it, Muu?”

The Atkovan quickly shook their head. At their smaller stature and feebler body, Korra’s outburst had terrified them.

“See?” he said. “It’s not them we need to be mad at.”

Asami had taken the grieving Atkovan back into their home. The comforting wasn’t going very well but at least she was getting to know the parent better. Their name was Aika, and the son they took away was Datk.

The engineer knew she would regret saying this immediately, but it was the only thing she could think of doing.

“I promise we’ll find your son, and we’ll bring them back to you. We’ll find a cure for this.”

Their crying had died down a bit and they nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much, human.”

She smiled, but her heart broke.

As she headed back outside, she was glad to see Muu had found their voice again and was trying to talk to the crew now.

“Please, please don’t be upset with me,” they pleaded. “I have to do what they say, otherwise they’ll send me back.”

“Send you where?” Korra asked.

“I earned my job at the capitol a few years ago. Worked my way up. But I’m really from the resources district – I didn’t mean to lie to you, I know the way things truly are and they’ll send me back if I don’t do well!”

The crew paused a moment to take it all in.

“How do we know you’re not lying again?” Kuvira asked.

Muu hesitated before they tilted their head back and opened their mouth wide. They lifted their tongue up, and beneath, around their bottom teeth and gums, were large areas of black, dead tissue. The crew flinched at the grotesque sight before they closed their mouth again.

“I used to process the phosphorus,” they said. “The fumes were corrosive but there weren’t enough masks to go round. We’d breathe them in, and they would eat away at our faces. I know people who had jaw amputations when the gangrene spread too much.”

Kuvira avoided their glance as they explained as the rest of the crew were taken aback.

“I know this isn’t what you expected from us,” Muu was speaking in a hushed voice now, mustering the courage to lean in towards them so their earpieces would still pick up the sound. “But the leaders have been desperate to get back into a trading bloc. The way people live in the capital is so unsustainable that without trade they’re going to start going hungry like the rest of us. They coax people out here to work, saying if you’re good enough you’ll earn a place in the capital. Sometimes it’s true, but most of the times it’s a lie to shut people up. I was lucky, and I admit to it.”

“Was… was it always like this?” Korra asked.

Muu shrugged. “Some say it wasn’t. They say before we industrialised things were better, and people lived equally. But ownership of plants and factories started to build inequality and here we are. I don’t know about any of it though. I’m too young and no one teaches us any more than we need to know. “

The Atkovan looked from one human to the next, their eyes glossy with tears.

“I don’t think we’ll ever cure this disease,” they admitted. “I think the researchers fear that if they find out what it is, they won’t be needed anymore, and they’ll be sent back to the districts.”

Asami frowned. It suddenly made sense. Her feeling that they were withholding information was right.

“What do you propose we do, Muu?” she asked. “How would we ever help them if they don’t want to be helped?”

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

“Why can’t the leaders use the wealth from their trading to improve the districts on the surface too? Surely they can’t hoard everything!” Korra said.

“I wish it was so,” Muu answered. “But the truth is… they’re not hoarding anything.” The Atkovan gestured to the greenery around the district. “There’s nothing on our planet anymore. We’re nearly the only ones left. The ecosystems are so out of sync that it’s nearly impossible to grow anything edible. The plants that remain are devoid of nutrients, and the few critters that still exist are full of toxins from the industrial waste. So even the capital’s resources are stretched thin.” They sighed as they looked back at the crew. “We destroyed our planet long ago, and now it won’t sustain us anymore.”

What they were hearing felt insanely dystopian. So much so that they couldn’t help but be reminded of Earth’s own struggles. Their resources were dwindling too, and a part of them wondered if this was what their future looked like.

“There must be something we can do,” Korra said. “I suppose if we contact Iroh he might be inclined to make contact with Atkova, and with a little pressure-“

“Iroh won’t want to have anything to do with this place as long as there’s a contagious disease roaming around,” Kuvira interrupted. “It’s a miracle we’re even here. Our best bet is to get rid of this bullshit, then start talking about reform.”

“I suppose I can head back to the lab and sneak some peaks into the data they were hiding,” Asami said. “Or convince them to let me have a closer look.”

Korra nodded. “In the meantime we’ll try and help the districts as much as we can. Mako and Bolin can take the resources district, Kuvira and I will stick around the industrial.”

“Your planning sounds all fine,” Muu whispered again, “but can we please just reiterate… don’t tell anyone I told you anything. Please pretend that this tour went normally.”

The crew reassured them that nothing happened.

Though the fact that they had even mentioned a scheduling error to begin with was strange. If their whole visit around the planet was so importantly scheduled, who would make such a blatant error? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 84 years... sorry update took an incredulous amount of time. Uni work and lectures and exams just... take the life out of someone, yknow? xD 
> 
> To make it up to y'all here's a fun fact: Muu's life in the district is not in fact all fiction, and gangrenous rot around the jaw was in fact common in the matchstick making industry, back in the 19th century when matches were still made with white phosphorous - a corrosive, and very reactive chemical. We luckily stopped using that for matches, but the condition was known as "phossy jaw". Ok maybe this fact isn't so fun actually.


End file.
